The Fall of the House of Charn
by Wathira
Summary: In The Magician's Nephew, Jadis justifies her use of the Deplorable Word by blaming her actions on her sister so I wondered what the sister's side of the story was. This is my attempt.
1. Chapter 1

Two Little Princesses

_In the tenth year of the reign of King Adancus in the Kingdom of Charn in the capital city of Charn in the center of the world and in the month of Bruma, two daughters were born to the King and his wife, Queen Ara. The first was named Jadis and the second was Bellatrix. As the firstborn, Jadis was named heir to the throne of Charn. Jadis and Bellatrix grew up in the royal court and learned everything that two young princesses should know: history, grammar, etiquette, riding, and politics. Bellatrix was a lively girl who loved the outdoors, but Jadis would stay inside often and study the art and science of magic. And so it continued into their tenth year when it was customary to betroth high-born girls to princes. The girls were often to be found in the palace gardens, which were their favorite spot in the whole kingdom._

Princess Bellatrix giggled as her winged mouse nibbled on her finger.

"Aliger, that tickles!"

In answer, the mouse scurried up her arm and onto her shoulder, bringing even more giggles from his owner. Next to her, her sister yawned and continued lazily stroking her own mouse which was sleeping curled up in the palm of her hand. Princess Jadis had quickly gotten bored of their furry birthday presents after they received them seven months ago. She had been more excited at the news that by her next birthday she would be married to a rich prince. Bellatrix had not been as enthusiastic, but that was only because she thought that after she was married then she would no longer be allowed to climb trees or swim in the river. Rolling her eyes, Jadis sighed as her sister's pet winged mouse began to nibble on her ear and Bellatrix began to giggle harder than ever. All she thought of was playing instead of turning her mind to serious things like sorcery.

This short hour of free time was brought to an end with the sound of the bell ringing for dinner. Princess Jadis stood up slowly so as not to awaken her own pet mouse, Alatus. No longer was she was a little girl playing in the gardens but the daughter of the king of kings and was expected to behave as such. Her sister got up less gracefully because she was trying to balance her mouse on her shoulder and less was expected of the second-born to the king anyway. They made their ways up the garden stairs and into a cool hall.

At the end of the hall there was a flight of stairs leading up to their bedrooms and they hurried up them. Or at least Jadis stepped briskly and Bellatrix hopped two stairs at a time. Aliger the winged mouse miraculously stayed intact on her shoulder and before Jadis could rebuke his mistress for being such a tomboy (not that she would have cared), she was in her bedroom taking off her playclothes (taking care to put Aliger in his cage first). Then she put on the dinner dress that had been put out for her by a servant and in a few minutes (it took Jadis a little longer), she was running back down the stairs to the great hall where all the great feasts were given. For today another suitor was to try to impress Jadis and her parents enough to become betrothed to her.

Prince Alacer of Affinis sat restlessy between his father and his potential father-in-law, King Aduncus. For the umpteenth time he reached up to straighten his coronet and fidgeted a little in his chair. He moved around the silverware around his plate a bit and brushed an imaginary speck of his breeches. Smoothing an imaginary wrinkle on his sleeve, he gulped nervously and drew his cloak about him more for although it was summer, the cold setting sun did not give any heat and hardly any light. That was why the great hall of the royal palace of Charn was lit with hundreds of candles on this night. Alacer thought about the dire situation of his homeland that had led him here tonight in this chilly hall.

_Only five months ago, his own father, King Altor, had called him into his private chamber, which was something he never did so Alacer had known that something was up. Altor had gestured toward a pile of scrolls on the table with one on top containing a map of Affinis and the surrounding kingdoms. His father explained that the areas marked in red had been free lands that were now annexed to the kingdom of Charn. Alacer looked at the map again and realized that it was nearly all red. Only Affinis and a small kingdom to the north called Boreus remained untouched. _

"_The only thing separating us from subordination is the Desert of Aridus," said Altor. "Aduncus will not risk a dangerous desert crossing to conquer us, but you never know." Now Altor revealed the real purpose for summoning his son to his private chamber. "King Aduncus has a daughter who is of marriageable age and is to be queen after he is gone," he said pointedly. "If we were to be joined to the House of Charn through marriage, our whole kingdom would be saved. It would be your princely duty to your country and your king to do this."_

_Alacer was less than eager to marry a girl he had never seen or met before in his life. But he knew his father was right and there was no way around it. Affinis was like a bug in the eyes of Charn and only marrying into its royal family would stop everything he loved from being sucked into the bowels of Charn. That was how he had come to bid a teary farewell to his mother and make a week-long journey across the desert. Now here he was about to meet the princess whom he must marry to save Affinis._

_Suddenly it occurred to him what marriage was. It meant living in the same room of the same house forever with one person whom he did not know at all. What if she snored or spent so much money on dresses and other womanly things that the kingdom went bankrupt? Or worse, they were both heirs to their respective kingdoms and it was their duty to produce more heirs of their own! He was only thirteen-years-old! Did his father not know that he was not ready for all that!?_

His thoughts were interrupted as the doors to the great hall opened to admit a beautiful girl only a few years younger that himself. Her party dress looked too pretty for her frizzy hair which she had forgotten to brush but her brightly sparkling eyes and the skip in her step more than made up for it. She waited politely for the doorman to introduce her as she straightened the skirt of her dress. Just her presence seemed to warm the room instantly as the warmth seemed to radiate from her pure face. The short sleeves of her dress revealed arms that were used to gripping strong tree branches and swimming for hours without tiring.

"Presenting her royal highness, Princess Bellatrix!" yelled the doorman to the room at large.

Alacer's heart sank. He had been hoping that the girl was Jadis since he was almost beginning to like her already. She took her place a bit down the table from him and he lost sight of her behind her parents. Again he brushed off his breeches. All this waiting was making him antsy.

"Presenting her royal highness, Princess Jadis!"

The prince turned just in time to see another girl enter the great hall with much more grace but less vivacity than Bellatrix. She looked almost exactly like Bellatrix except her hair was neatly combed and brushed and the train of her dress was much longer to signify her higher rank. A page took her arm and led her to sit between her parents in a chair two places from Alacer. He had no more time to wonder what she was like since servants were already entering with large platters of food to start the meal with.

Dinner was marvelous! First was bird's nest soup, a delicacy reserved only for the royalty of Charn. Then came the roast avis, a bird native to Charn and used in many of their recipes. And on and on the courses came until Alacer felt like he could not eat another bite. After dessert, the court of Charn retired into the ante chamber to chat and wait for the food to digest in their stomachs.

Bellatrix was full and felt sleepy so she groaned to think of all the time she had to socialize, as was customary after a fancy dinner in Charn. But she only groaned inwardly for to show outward discontent was below a princess of Charn. The foreign prince caught her eye and gave her a small smile so she smiled back politely but really she would rather be in bed. Grudgingly, she thought normal ten-year-old girls got to go to bed whenever they wanted and thought that she should be treated the same. After all, she was a high-ranking princess and the daughter of the king of kings so she should at least have some control over what she did and when she did it.

Jadis smoothed her skirt after she curtsied gracefully to the king of Affinis, who her father was introducing her to. As she straightened up she looked into his eyes. She knew that you can always tell how powerful a person was by looking in his or her eyes. His eyes did not display great power so he could not be that noble, which indicated a mix of commoners blood in him. These foreign nobility married just anybody and thus their position was diluted with the sentimentality of the lower classes. Princess Jadis cringed to think that she might be marrying into such a low-born family but, like a good princess, she did not show her outward discontent.


	2. Chapter 2

The Secret Scroll

Meanwhile, Alacer was making his way across the room towards Bellatrix. She saw him coming and waited respectfully for him to approach. Alacer only bowed his head to her as he had seen others do to her although they bowed to Jadis from the hip. For someone who looked so much like Jadis, she got a lot less reverence from the courtiers. Bellatrix smiled as if she knew what he was thinking and did not give a fig. Alacer blushed.

"It seems that we might be in-laws a little down the road, Princess Bellatrix" he said.

"Yes, it does," replied she. "And you can call me Bella, like all my friends do. Do you fancy my sister?"

The question took Alacer by surprise. He had not expected her to cut to the chase so quickly.

"She certainly is pretty," he said noncommittally.

Thankfully, this awkward moment was brought to an end when King Aduncus clapped his hand for attention.

"It is time for the young ones to go to bed," he announced. "Young princesses need their beauty rests!"

Everyone made way for the girls as they left the room.

"It is time for you to go to bed also," said King Altor to Alacer. "You must be tired after that long journey through the desert." Alacer did not ask whether his father was not also tired. He knew he had to stay up and discuss the union between him and Princess Jadis with King Aduncus. A servant came to him to lead him to the second guest room. The principal guest room was reserved for his father.

Alacer and his father stayed a fortnight in Charn. On the day of their departure for Affinis, Alacer still did not know whether he was going to marry Jadis or not. It was only after three days on the journey home that his father informed him that he would. Aduncus had agreed to honor the Affinian tradition of men marrying only after they had reached their twenty-first birthday, so he did not have to do it for quite some time. This was good news to Alacer, since he did not feel ready to get married just then.

"Sword blade up, Bellatrix! Good!"

The sound of clashing metal echoed through the courtyard as the two princesses practiced their swordsmanship (or swords_woman_ship, as Bellatrix liked to call it). It was the last activity after a long day of charioteering and horseback riding. Aquila, their trainer, had served under their father in the old wars and had been instructed to now teach the princesses his skills. To King Aduncus, conquest was as much a part of ruling an empire as making laws. He wanted to make sure that his heirs learned this as early as possible. Even though it had been five whole years since the visit of King Altor of Affinis and his son, Prince Alacer, the girls were still at a tender age.

Finally, Aquila announced that training was over for the day and their royal highnesses were free to go to dinner. Hot and sweaty, they gladly took off their protective helmets and arm braces. The cool evening air felt good on their bare skin. They handed in their practice swords to Aquila and ran inside to freshen up for dinner. After dinner they retired to their rooms to spend the rest of the evening however they wished.

Jadis at once locked her door and made sure that only one lantern was lit before she opened her bag of dirty laundry to fetch what she had hidden their. She took out an ancient scroll which she had pilfered from the palace library during a history lesson when the instructor was not looking. The seal was still unbroken as she had not yet had time to read it until now. Eagerly, she broke the seal and started reading as she unrolled the parchment.

_In the twentieth year of the reign of King Bilis in the land of Charn in the royal city of Charn in the palace of the king in the great hall in the month of Ver, the last known use of the curse that was the abomination of abominations called the Deplorable Word occurred. During the feast of the god Ambrosius, King Bilis bade seven hundred nobles to feast with him in honor of the gods. Before the feast, he ordered the doors and walls to the great hall where it was to be held to be replaced with pure gold. The reason for this is that gold is a shield against many spells and enchantments and cannot be penetrated by them. For this reason, the door and walls of the Hall of Images are of gold so that no one outside of the Hall may be turned into an image like the monarchs of old inside. _

_King Bilis did not want to wipe out the whole world but only the men inside the great hall. More slaves died of exhaustion in the gold mines in the months leading up to the feast than had died in five years getting enough gold to cover the walls and doors of the hall. No one knows the exact time the king uttered the Word, but a servant who was polishing the banister of the great staircase remembers seeing the king come out of the hall with a dazed look on his face. Upon looking into the great hall, the servant only saw seven hundred empty chairs and on the tables were seven hundred half-full plates, with seven hundred forks and knives on them. Candlelight glittered on seven hundred napkin rings, salt cellars, and other metallic things. _

_Later, the king was found in a corner of his private chamber muttering over and over, "They were going to kill me … They were going to kill me…" After he was deemed unfit to rule, Bilis was retired to his country house in rural eastern Charn for his mind to rest. His son, Avus rose to the throne and forever forbade the use or study of the Deplorable Word. All scrolls and records of it were burnt although it was said that some magicians hid their own copies to save them from burning. Despite such rumors, no such scrolls were ever found from the north to the south of the kingdom. _

Disappointed, Jadis put the scroll down on her reading desk. It had not at all contained the great secret that she had expected from seeing it on the highest shelf in the library. She should have known that it was nothing special when all it had taken to bring it down was a simple levitation charm. Surely a document of greater import would have been guarded by tougher spells? But, on the other hand, if one was to know this Deplorable Word, would that not make her the most powerful person in the whole world? The temptation was too much for the ambitious Jadis and she quickly gave in.

King Aduncus of Charn was enjoying the warm weather (which in Charn means it was less colder than usual) with a stroll down one of the garden walkways. He saw his firstborn, Jadis, walking towards him from the other side of the garden. Oddly, he saw that she was accompanied by his deaf-mute slave which he only summoned for a secret council that he did not want anyone to hear about. Surdus was his name, and he walked behind Jadis carrying the train of her cloak so that it did not pick up too much dirt. What in Charn did a fifteen-year-old want to talk about that was so serious that she brought a slave who was both deaf and mute?

"Good afternoon, Father," she greeted him.

"And to you, Daughter," he replied.

"Father," she began, "I have been studying the scrolls in the back shelves of the library."

"Go on."

"Well, there is one that talks about something called the Deplorable Word and I was wondering what it was."

King Aduncus was a rough man and his daughters were the only one to whom he showed any gentleness, but now he grabbed Jadis tightly by the wrist.

"Who told you about this?"

His eyes flashed dangerously and Jadis winced despite herself.

"No one told me, Father. I read in one of the scrolls from the library."

"Where is it now? Give it to me at once!"

"I hid it in my dirty laundry so it must be ruined in the wash by now," said Jadis.

At this, King Aduncus' face relaxed a little.

"Never let me hear you speak of it or hear that you have been studying about it again."

"Yes, Father."


	3. Chapter 3

What happened in Caligo

He let go of her wrist and she ran back inside with Surdus right behind her still holding the bottom of her cloak off the ground. She realized that he was still following her and dismissed him with a wave of her hand. It seemed that the last monarch who had strength and magic enough to use a power as potent as the Deplorable Word was only a few generations before her. She knew from her history that King Bilis was her great-grandfather.

But even he had used the Deplorable Word only in self-defense like a weakling. And his son after him had completely wiped it off the face of the earth like a cowardly fool! Her own father would not even allow her to speak of it! The blood of Charn been watered down by cowardice! What had happened to the proud despots who could conquer empires without a flick of an eyelash? They cowered at a mere word only because it gave them supreme power.

In that moment, Jadis was almost ashamed to have been born into a line of weaklings. But wait. Was she not to be the next queen? She could bring back to her House the bravery and supremacy of old. Then would all nations truly fear her and fall before her feet! Every principality in the world would bow to her every wish with the threat of complete obliviation hanging over their heads.

She could already imagine golden chambers in which she would send those who displeased her. Then, after wiping them off the face of the earth, she could give their lands to those who were loyal to her and sell their families as slaves. The terror of Charn would spread far and wide and great kings would pay tribute to her. Laughing manically, Jadis reclined upon her bed as she imagined it to be a pile of precious stones and jewelry of precious metals from all corners of the world. This time of reverie was brought to an end by the dinner bell.

Jadis frowned. She could not conquer the world without knowing the Deplorable Word and that was completely restricted from her. A part of the scroll came back to her: _"All scrolls and records of it were burnt although it was said that some magicians hid their own copies to save them from burning." _This was over a hundred years ago and nobody could possibly still be alive to tell her where any hidden scrolls might be found. But there were ways of asking questions of the dead. After all, her father had not forbidden her to study scrolls about how to bring the dead back to life. First, she had to find a record of a great magician from Bilis' time. Finally, she would be one step closer to being the most powerful ruler in the world.

The library was dark this time of night but not pitch-black. Moonlight coming through the high windows threw eerie shadows on the wall. But Jadis scorned what would have frightened any other teenage girl and went on with her search. Her torch illuminated only a few scrolls at a time, and it had taken her all night just to get to the other side of the library. Now she had reached the last scroll on the bottom shelf of the last wall. Jadis glanced up at the windows and saw that the light coming through them was gray. Dawn was coming. She grabbed the scroll to read later and ran back to her room, remembering to throw the torch into the fireplace where it would burn to ashes by the time anyone went to clean it out.

After breakfast, she retired to her room to study the scroll. It began like this: "Here are preserved the writings of Cadaver the Sorcerer, court wizard and palace healer from the reign of King Bilis the Mad into the reign of King Avus and Queen Avia." That was all she needed to know and she rolled up the scroll to put it away in the secret compartment in her closet next to the first scroll she had stolen. That night she called into her bedroom Ancilla, her maid-servant.

"Take off all your clothes," she commanded, "then put on my nightdress and sleep in my bed so that anybody who happens to check on me might think that I am sound asleep."

Ancilla was very confused by these orders, but she knew better than to disobey Jadis or even be slow to obey because two years ago, Jadis had magically paralyzed her hand when she had been too slow to dress her. She still could not move it and had to do everything one-handed. Even now she undressed with one hand and with difficulty she put on Jadis' silky nightdress watching Jadis put on her own clothes, undergarments and all. Bewildered, she slipped between the silky sheets of Jadis' bed. As soon as Jadis left, she lay her head down on the soft downy pillows at once and pretended to be asleep, as Jadis had commanded her. Meanwhile, Jadis made her way to the back exit of the palace used by the servants on their errands. She got out easily enough because the guards just looked at her servant's dress and thought that one of the princesses had just sent her servant out on an errand.

When she was very small, she remembered the court healer of her father displeasing him in some way and being banished from the court of Charn. The sentence was banishment in Caligo, a destitute region of Charn that was the haunt of criminals and peddling magicians who had escaped being wiped out long ago. They made their living by illegally selling potions and now the former court healer had been demoted to being one of them. Jadis now made her way to Caligo by asking passersby the way. In less than an hour she finally reached it.

Caligo made itself known by its stench before she was three blocks away from it. Human excrement and garbage carelessly thrown into the street fused to create an almost unbearable fume. But Jadis was not going to be stopped by a mere bad odor. After walking for some time, she saw an open door through which a strong smell of clay was coming from. Uncertainly, she stepped onto the threshold and looked inside to behold a small potter's shop. The walls were filled with shelves on which were hundreds of pots and also clay pipes for smoking goodness knows what of different sizes and shapes.

Suddenly, a figure in the corner moved and she realized that it was a man, but he was so covered in clay that he looked like part of the wall.

"Good evening, pretty girl," he said.

If he knew who I was, he would not speak so freely, thought Jadis. But she showed no emotion.

"I am looking for Callida the Healer," she said to him.

"Ah, old Cal! In fact, I just finished up an order for her and I told her it would be ready by now. So she should be coming by any minute now. If you will sit down on that stool over there, you can wait until she comes by and ask her what you wanted."

Hardly believing her good luck, Jadis thanked the potter and started to go to the stool he had indicated in the far corner of the shop. But she never got there. All at once the potter flung himself upon her and fumbled with the low neckline of the servant's dress. Jadis screamed but she still had her wits about her. She put upon his hand the same paralyzing spell she had put on Ancilla. Instantly, he got up clutching his useless hand with his other one.

"Witch," he cried. "Get out of my shop, whore-witch."

Jadis got up quick as lightning.

"Minion!" she cried. "You will pay for attacking your princess! The wrath of the House of Charn falls upon you!"

As she spoke, the man was still throwing curses at her, but his words were no longer coming out. Only a gurgling noise escaped his throat, then nothing. He stood there still clutching one hand with the other, a perfect clay statue of a man. Still breathing hard, Jadis sat down on the stool to calm down. As her breathing slowed down, her ears caught faint screams coming from other parts of the town.

No one had answered her scream because such happenings were common in those parts. She put her head between her knees for a few minutes because she felt suddenly sick. Presently, an old woman covered in soot as much as the potter had been covered in clay entered the shop. She looked around the walls as if she expected the man to be camouflaged against them as he had been when Jadis had walked in. When she could not see him, she called him in a voice as covered in soot as her body was and the product of long years of smoking.

"Argilla! Argilla, where are you? It is no use hiding from me! I will collect rent from you this month whether or not you…"

She stopped as she caught sight of the statue of Argilla. Then she turned slowly and looked around the room once more. Finally, she saw a pale girl with flashing eyes staring at her. Her mouth fell open in a gasp and she picked up her skirts and fairly ran for her life. When she got to the door to Callida's shack, she burst in to say that Argilla was a statue, and there was a girl dressed like a palace servant sitting in his shop.


	4. Chapter 4

Back at the palace

Bellatrix woke up to someone gently shaking her and looked up sleepily into the anxious face of her friend, Ancilla. Still half-asleep, she looked at her window but no light was coming through it so what in the world had Ancilla woken her up for when it was not even dawn yet? Ancilla kept shaking her until she woke up so she had no choice but to sit up and rub the sleep out of her eyes. Unlike Jadis, Bellatrix made friends with the servants and they obeyed her out of love and not fear or forced submission. This was why Bellatrix did not order Ancilla to leave her alone and let her sleep in case she had come to ask for help as a friend. Speaking of Jadis, the last time Ancilla had come to her this upset was when…

"She has not paralyzed your other hand, has she?" asked Bellatrix, sitting straighter in her bed. She was appalled that Jadis would use her magic to teach servants a lesson and thought that it was abominable. However, Jadis was her older sister (if only by three minutes) and the heir to the throne of Charn, so there was nothing that she could do.

"No, Princess Bella," said Ancilla, using the nickname used by all special friends of Bellatrix, "Princess Jadis left the palace a couple of hours ago and has not returned yet to sleep."

"Then what in Charn have you woken me up for. It is clearly not morning yet and…Wait a minute. Did you say that Jadis has left the palace and has not come back to sleep yet?

"Yes, Bella. Your royal sister summoned me to her room earlier this evening with a most strange command."

Ancilla related all that had happened to her that night to Bellatrix.

"She is up to something," muttered Bella when Ancilla was finished. "And knowing her, it can't be anything good."

Bellatrix quickly got out of bed and dressed, ignoring Ancilla's offer to help her ("I can manage perfectly well on my own.").

"Do you know which way she went, Ancilla?"

"Her footsteps went off in the direction of the servants' staircase."

"Then she does not want to be seen."

"If she was looking to hide her scrolls in a better place, then maybe I should have told her that she had forgotten them."

"Scrolls? What scrolls?"

Ancilla held out two scrolls that she had been holding under her arm so that she could have one free hand to open the door to the bedroom and shake Bellatrix awake.

"I found them earlier today as I was cleaning out her closet in a hidden compartment which I accidentally opened."

Bellatrix took the scrolls from her and lit a lantern hanging near her bed to read them by and after she was done she looked at Ancilla.

"Jadis has been studying the Deplorable Word."

Ancilla was a mere servant and did not understand the ways of her superiors.

"What is the _deportable_…?"

"There is no time," said Bellatrix as she rolled up the scrolls. "We have to find her before she…"

Then it occurred to Bellatrix that Jadis could just as well have said the Deplorable Word in the privacy of her own room. She must have gone on another errand and would have at least packed something if she planned on staying away for long. Besides, how could she start chasing her if she did not even know where outside the palace to start looking?

"No, we will wait until she comes back," she decided. "Put these scrolls back where you found them before she finds them missing," she said as she gave the scrolls back to Ancilla. "You better get back in her bed, too, before she finds that you have disobeyed her orders and paralyzes you completely."

This was enough for Ancilla and she ran from the room and back into Jadis' bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her as she entered. Then she went into the closet putting back the scrolls in the secret compartment and got out to close the door. Finally, she got back into Jadis' queen-sized bed and shut her eyes tight trying to slow down her breathing and look like she had been there the whole time. Hours after that, Bellatrix was still awake wondering why Jadis would be studying such dark sorcery. Since she was going to be queen, such evil would make her doubly powerful and dangerous. Tired from only a few hours of sleep and worrying about what her sister was up to, Bellatrix eventually fell asleep not knowing that at that very moment Jadis was meeting the woman who would bring her one step closer to the Deplorable Word.


	5. Chapter 5

Callida's Vision

Meanwhile, Callida the Healer examined the clay image that had been Argilla the potter.

"You have formidable powers for a youngster such as yourself," she said, calmly turning to the pale figure still sitting on the stool in the corner. Jadis said nothing. "How does a lowly servant-girl come to know such powerful magic?" asked Callida. "Servants are usually too illiterate to study it."

At this, Jadis finally stood up and drew herself up to her full height.

"Woman, I am Princess Jadis, daughter of King Aduncus, son of King Avus, heir to the throne of Charn. I come to this pit seeking one called Callida whom my father banished several years ago that she may serve me instead."

Callida did not bow or curtsy, but merely smiled.

"Yes, that explains the power of magic about you for I can see it in your eyes. Know then, I am the Callida whom you seek and I used to be the royal healer. Once, while I slept, the gods saw fit to endow me with a vision as has happened to others in my line of descent. It was a vision of you on a throne with a crown on your head, but then a great yellow beast rose up against you consuming you and four children trampled on your remains. When I related this vision to your father it angered him and he exiled me to this pit, as you so fittingly named it.

"Since then, I have been making my living as a minor fortune-teller among the dregs of Charn's society. But about the time your father proclaimed my banishment, he also forbade all yellow animals in the kingdom. For years, nothing bigger than a domestic cat has been seen in Charn. If anything is bigger or if anything is born with so much as a yellow-like tinge in its fur or skin – like a tabby cat – it is instantly killed. My own cat, Felis, who was my only comfort in by lonely exile, was speared to death right in front of me by soldiers sent by your father because he was half-tabby."

Jadis thought about the small winged mouse in her bedroom and realized that it was true she did not remember ever seeing anything bigger than a cat. But she had not come to discuss visions of large beasts that did not even exist in Charn anymore with a cat-loving old woman. If Father was too overprotective, that was his own affair. She had come on a mission for world domination and had not time for the dreams of old crones. Callida seemed to have guessed her thoughts.

"You said that you sought me for my service, Princess," she said.

"Yes. You are a great sorceress. My command to you is to conjure the spirit of Cadaver the Sorcerer that I may ask something of him."

"That is not a simple request, Princess Jadis."

"I have payment," said Jadis, taking out a small pouch of gold from her pocket.

"No, young princess. It is no easy thing to conjure a spirit. The bonds of death are tight and do not suffer to be broken."

"Then why in Charn were you hired by my father in the first place if you can't even conjure up a spirit?"

This question had an effect on Callida. She clenched her teeth as if to keep from cursing. But then she seemed to remember who she was talking to and swallowed her words. Instead, she walked over to the clay Argilla and put her hand on top of his head. Nothing seemed to happen at first but a sound of creaking bones started to come from him. Then a moaning came from his clay lips as they turned back to flesh. Soon he was a living, breathing man again and he stretched himself. He caught sight of Jadis and shrieked. At once, he fainted.

"Do not think that I got into my position in the court of your father for nothing, Princess," Callida spat out the last word. "My powers are beyond your mortal imagination."

Jadis kept her pleasure to herself for her mockery had done its job.

"Then will you carry out my command to the letter?"

Callida paused, then, "Yes, my lady."


	6. Chapter 6

Cadaver's Spirit

It was completely dark in Callida's shack except for the mysteriously purple fire in the center of the room. She did not chant or call out for Cadaver the sorcerer as Jadis had expected that she would, but she sat cross-legged in front of the fire and swayed slowly back and forth and Jadis knew that she was summoning Cadaver with her mind. Then as she looked at the fire it turned green all of a sudden and a deep voice came from it.

"Who disturbs my death-sleep?"

"I, Callida, sorceress of Charn, on behalf of Jadis, great-granddaughter of your master King Bilis and granddaughter of his son King Avaus, heiress to the throne of Charn."

Jadis assumed that this was her cue.

"I come seeking the whereabouts of any scroll or record of any kind that contains the secret known as the Deplorable Word."

Callida gasped but Jadis ignored her.

"The Deplorable Word is a heavy responsibility for such a young maiden," said the voice from the fire.

"As your princess, I command you to tell me, dog!"

The fire hissed as if a bucket of water had been dumped upon it.

"I do not fear ultimate power as my ancestors did, tender as my years may be!" screamed Jadis.

It seemed as if Cadaver relented as the fire began to crackle again and he started to chant.

"_Look in the field of graves where dead kings sleep._

_There's a tomb with a lightning-bolt-shaped crack._

_Dig until you are twenty-one feet deep._

_Until you find a coffin that is black."_

The fire sputtered and died but the voice of Cadaver still echoed the last words of the rhyme.

"…_coffin that is black…"_

_"…that is black…"_

_"…is black…"_

Callida whimpered and did not seem at all like the brusk wench who Jadis had first seen in Argilla's shop.

"Your highness, I beg you, do not do this evil," she pleaded. "Spare this world and do not heed the words of a rogue ghost."

"Silence, fool, and speak of this to no one or you will end up like Argilla the potter!"

As Jadis left Callida's shack, she noticed that the sky was growing lighter so she did not have much time to get back before people noticed that Ancilla was not her. She hurried along the streets and was afraid for a terrible minute that she was lost. But then she caught sight of a familiar-looking hovel and from there she could find her way quite easily. The sun was just rising when she slipped in the back door and up the stairs to the hallway where her room was. Finally she thought she was safe from being caught but it was not over.

Bellatrix was woken up by the sound of footsteps in the hallway and knew that her sister was back. She quickly got out of bed and threw on her nightgown. Then she opened the door to find Jadis just opening the door to her own room to enter. Startled, Jadis stared at the robed figure of her sister for a moment. Bellatrix advanced on her twin.

"You have been seeking information about the Deplorable Word," she accused.

"What is it to you?" retorted Jadis.

"That kind of sorcery is only for Black Wizards!" shouted Bellatrix.

"Shut up," hissed Jadis, but there were already footsteps coming. However, they were coming from inside Jadis' room and belonged to Ancilla as she came out in the hall to find out what all the rucus was about. When she saw Jadis, she bowed low, already taking off the nightdress. She was not used to such fine fabric and was glad to be out of it again and in her old clothes.

"Highness, I have carried out the command you gave to me."

Jadis grabbed her nightdress from Ancilla and cruelly pushed her shivering into the hallway as she shut and locked her door.

"Jadis!"

Bellatrix was horrified at the behavior of her sister since Ancilla had not done anything but obey her. She led the servant girl into her own bedroom and gave her another nightdress. Then she told her to go back to the servants' quarters to get another set of clothes so that she could start her duties for the day. Since the sun had risen, she decided that she might as well wash herself and get ready for the day as well. She had decided not to tell her father about Jadis because if she was probing the mystery of the Deplorable Word there was no telling what drastic thing she might do.

Jadis paced restlessly up and down in her room. She could not afford that little sniffer of a sister following and spying on her. For all her caution against deep sorcery, she could learn the Deplorable Word before Jadis and become more powerful than her. It was too risky to have her around snooping into her business any longer. In that moment, Jadis decided what to do.

The next afternoon, Bellatrix was playing with her mouse, Aliger, under her favorite tree in the palace gardens. It was very still and there was no breeze and she started dozing off with the winged mouse still in her hand. Then she woke up with a start when she realized that she could not feel him anymore. But when she looked down at her hand, Aliger was still there. Why could she not feel his soft fur?

Only a few moments more, thought Jadis. Her limited powers allowed her to only paralyze someone partially but she wanted to inflict the most damage that she could. She wanted Bellatrix to be too afraid of her to meddle in her affairs anymore. She had chosen their favorite spot to play in when they had been children to find her because she knew that weaklings like her were more emotionally attached to such things. If she went on not noticing that she was being paralyzed, then Jadis could go on to paralyze her completely.

But she did notice. Bellatrix looked up to see Jadis across the garden just as the paralysis was spreading up her arm. With a sickening horror, she realized what was going on as it reached her shoulder. She reacted before it could reach her neck and Jadis lost sight of her as she ran into the tress before she could finish. A squeaking noise arose from the area around her feet and she looked down to see Aliger, whom Bellatrix had dropped in her escape. Without a second thought, Jadis covered him with her boot and pressed down as hard as she could. The sound of crunching bones and the blood oozing out from beneath her sole made her heart beat faster in delight.


	7. Chapter 7

Bellatrix's Journey

Bellatrix had to get out of there. There was a gate in the gardens that led into the city and she ran to it. Thanking the gods that it was unlocked (the gardener must have forgotten to lock it), she ran out into the streets of Upper Charn. Here there were only mansions of the higher-ranking lords and temples to the main gods on every corner. But as she ran on, the houses became smaller and soon gave way to shops owned and run by wealthy merchants. And then even these stopped and instead there were humble one-story houses in quiet neighborhoods.

Nobody stopped her, probably because she was running too fast to give anybody a chance to ask questions. She did not know how long she had been running but the palace walls were no longer in sight, although she could barely glimpse its tallest towers in the distance. There had been no witnesses and Jadis would just deny it. Everybody would be sure to believe her since she was going to be queen.

All of a sudden, Bellatrix felt more alone than she had ever felt in her life. She was in a strange part of the city unable to go back to familiar surroundings because she had a mad sister. Angry tears filled her eyes and then began to flow slowly down her sweaty face. Tired from running and beginning to feel hungry as smells of cooking began to emerge from the houses, she sobbed in anger because of Jadis and in sadness because of her situation. The tears made her face look even more grimy but this did not stop her from bawling her eyes out.

She could not stand there forever so presently she wiped her face with the sleeve on the arm that was not paralyzed. Looking down at her rich, palace-made dress, she plucked a few sapphires decorating the hem. Clutching them in her hand, she walked back to the place where there were mainly shops. Choosing a shopkeeper who appeared to just be locking up at that moment, she walked up to him and showed him the sapphires. The greed on his face matched his curiosity when he saw them.

"There are more where these came from if you will give me a place to stay for the night," said Bellatrix. If she had had Jadis' firsthand experience outside the palace gates, then she would have been careful not to approach just anybody. But she was desperate and this was the only plan she had. The man instantly grabbed the sapphires and ran off quickly. Bellatrix was a princess and had never been treated this way so tired as she was, she took chase.

Because she had always been good at running and even though her paralyzed arm was a burden, she began to catch up with the more squat and less fit man. She finally cornered him in a deserted alley. As one having royal blood, she could also do a bit of magic even though she did not use it for cruel purposes like Jadis. In a minute, the man was writhing on the ground as he was tickled by the five mice that had suddenly appeared in his clothes. He still resolutely clung to the sapphires.

"Give back what you have stolen and I will make them go away," said Bellatrix, holding out her good hand. The man held out his hand and dropped them into her outstretched one as the mice squeezed through his sleeve and popped out one by one. He got up and dusted himself as they scattered into corners of the alley. Bellatrix waited until he had caught his breath. This time she held tightly to the sapphires as she offered them to him in exchange for shelter.

"Right this way, madam," he said grudgingly. He led her back to the small middle-class neighborhood where his house was a few blocks from where she had stopped and cried. The disapproval on the face of his wife at her husband bringing home a strange young woman melted when she saw the sapphires. She curtsied to Bellatrix briefly and smiled. They shared their dinner with her and gave her a place near the warm stove to sleep.

While the couple slept, Bellatrix stayed awake wondering what her next move should be. By midnight she had come up with a plan and soon exhaustion coaxed her to sleep. The next morning, the wife of the stout shopkeeper shook her awake for breakfast. After the meal, they smiled widely as she put the sapphires (which she had held on to tightly during the night) into the hands of the wife for their hospitality (they had tried to take them before but they could not without waking her up). Then she revealed her plan to them.

"I will give you the rest of the sapphires if you will take me to the royal court of Affinis."

The smiles instantly dropped.

"My lady!" exclaimed the shopkeeper's wife. "That is halfway across the world!"

"By the time you get back, you will be sapphires richer."

The couple had never done anything very exciting in their lives and the prospect of an adventure with personal gain was extremely appealing to them, so they immediately made preparations for the journey for a fortnight and finally set off. Transportation was paid for in sapphires and in a month they were at the palace gates of King Altor. Bellatrix showed the guards her signet ring bearing the red sun of Charn to present the position of her house above all and by this they were able to reach the throne room. Finally, it was time to say goodbye to the middle class couple and surprisingly there was some regret on their part. They had come to think of Bellatrix as the rich daughter they had never had but she gave them the last of the sapphires off her dress and they went home happily.

King Altor was amazed and almost thought that his ears were failing him when the doorman to the throne room called out, "Presenting Princess Bellatrix of Charn!" There she was indeed walking across the throne room toward him in a shabby dress frayed at the hem. In four of five years, she had blossomed into a beautiful young lady. Since she was the identical twin sister of the betrothed to his son, he was glad to see that the wife of Alacer would be fair and graceful like this vision. Still, he was burning with curiosity as to why she was here and dressed as she was.

Curtsying low in the fashion of Charn, Bellatrix greeted the king briefly as they do in Charn and wished the pleasure of the almighty Ambrosius upon him and the protection of the war god Armo and all that. Then she got to the purpose of the sojourn and explained to him the circumstances in which she had run away, recounting everything from the night Ancilla shook her awake to tell her that Jadis was up to something. King Altor was extremely concerned that the heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world was searching for a word that could wipe out all life. He gave orders that Bellatrix be properly fed, clothed, and accommodated and then called his advisors.

As Bellatrix rested from the long trip, King Altor told his advisors everything that she had told him. He asked them if it was wise to continue the betrothal of Prince Alacer to a woman so dangerous. Breaking their covenant with Charn could displease Jadis enough to take drastic action. But what if Alacer and Jadis got into a fight in their married lives and Jadis let the Word slip? They talked about the dilemma long after Bellatrix had fallen asleep.

The next day, eighteen-year-old Prince Alacer returned from patrolling the eastern borders of Affinis to find the courtiers looking strangely grim. He went at once to the throne room where he found his parents speaking in anxious tones. When they saw that their son had returned, they greeted him and told him to sit down because they had some bad news for him. Alacer summoned a servant to bring a chair and he sat down thanking him. In Affinis, the servants were treated infinitely better than in Charn. Then his parents proceeded to tell him that his fiancée possibly knew a secret that could destroy the entire world.

"How do you know that this is true?" asked Alacer.

"Princess Bellatrix escaped the clutches of her sister to come and warn us, bless her heart," said King Altor. Despite his consternation at hearing that his betrothed had diabolical powers, Alacer was pleased to know that the friendly girl from Charn was there. But when his father told him that Jadis had tried to silence her by paralysis and had succeeded with her arm, he was angry that anyone would hurt such a nice person. He knew that Bellatrix would never be cured because her handicap had been brought on by magic. It would take a great magician to undo it but nobody in Affinis was that powerful and it was too dangerous for Bellatrix to go back to Charn with Jadis hunting her. Prince Alacer made his decision right there and then.

"I no longer wish to marry Princess Jadis."


	8. Chapter 8

The End is Near

As soon as Bellatrix was gone, Jadis immediately ran to the part of the garden where she knew the herbs were grown. Walking over to the one she knew was called _alium_, she grabbed it and pulled it up by the roots. Then she ran full speed inside to her bedroom and quickly changed into the servant's clothes of Ancilla which she still had. Still holding the alium and shivering a bit from the memory of her last experience in those clothes, she made her way down to the kitchens. Once she was in the palace kitchens, she bustled about as if she worked there everyday and as a result of this and her false uniform no one took a second look at her.

Taking out a chopping board, she ground up the root of the _alium_ and sprinkled it onto the plate which she recognized as belonging to her father because it was pure gold. After that, she put back the chopping board and threw away the remains of the _alium_ as she ran back to her bedroom. That night at dinner the king suddenly started to choke and even though attendants rushed to him, nothing could be done to save him for when they inspected him they knew the cause to be traces of _alium_. It was an herb which Aduncus had been severely allergic to and which had caused a deadly reaction to which Jadis acted concerned as the face of her father turned purple, and then she cried out when it ceased twitching altogether but in triumph but not in grief. The chief officials were called and his body was borne away to the palace temple to be made ready for burial.

Funerals in Charn were quick, for mortality was not popular with the inhabitants so they tried to be reminded of it as little as possible. So King Aduncus was laid beside his fathers that very night as his widow and daughter looked on and soon after that, Ara, his queen, went mad with grief and had to be sent away to the country the next night. Thus, Jadis rose to the throne of Charn. Her first act as queen was to send riders all throughout the kingdom to search for her sister and off rewards for her capture.

She instructed rumormongers to say that Princess Bellatrix was in possession of a dangerous secret that could destroy the entire world. The princess must be captured and put to death before she can unleash her full power. Posters containing a detailed description of her were circulated throughout the entire kingdom. They described her as being cursed by the gods with a paralyzed arm for seeking ultimate power from them to destroy the entire world. Soon, a nationwide search was on for the disfigured witch-princess.

Across the Desert of Aridus, a heated argument was took place in the palace of the king.

"Alacer, do not be a fool! Now more than ever we need to stay on Charn's good side!" yelled King Altor.

"When such evil arises, the answer is not to such up to it but to resist it lest you become its slave!" replied Alacer. "I refuse to be married to such a cold woman who would paralyze her own sister!"

"Alacer," said his mother sternly. "This is not about your preference of who to marry. It is about keeping Affinis alive and it is your responsibility as the future king."

"The woman is mad!" screamed Alacer. "Not you, Mother," he added to the look on his mother's face. "I would just rather not share the same bedroom with a woman bent on world annihilation."

The royal family was anxious for the future but not as much as they were the next day. Word reached them of Jadis' rise to the throne. Struggling not to panic, King Altor called together his family and Princess Bellatrix and told them the news. Alacer's mother gasped and Bellatrix just shut her eyes as if in pain while even Alacer's gentlemen-in-waiting opened their mouths in shock. There was silence in the throne room for a while and then Prince Alacer was the first to speak.

"Father, if there ever was a time to strike Charn, it is now. Jadis has not yet learned the Deplorable Word. It is not too late."

"My son, this is not the time for rash actions."

"But the prince is right," countered Bellatrix. "Jadis punishes those who displease her with paralysis. She will not hesitate to use her powers. Believe me, I know," she finished quietly.

Alacer's mother patted her knee.

"We know, dear," she comforted.

"Perhaps you all are right," said King Altor after a pause. "Jadis' reign is still green and if we can nip it in the bud, then that would practically free the whole world from the tyranny of Charn. Very well. Let us then destroy tyranny forever. Muster the army."


	9. Chapter 9

The Last Queen of Charn

The proclamation of war got to Jadis as the armies of Affinis crossed the Desert of Aridus. In the proclamation, there was a demand that Jadis not use magic at all and neither would Affinis. Jadis sent back an acceptance of the terms, and sent out her own armies to meet the Affinians. But at night, she went to the tombs of the kings to oversee an excavation there at a certain tomb with a crack on it of an interesting shape. By the fifth night, the slaves had finally his something and they brought it up for their queen to see.

It was, as she had expected, a black coffin. So far, the words of Cadaver that she had heard the other night were true. She ordered the slaves to carry the coffin to her bedroom, then she sent them out. When she was alone, she notice that there was an inscription on the coffin. There were no hinges for the lid of the coffin to swing open on. After examining the entire surface of the coffin and finding nothing, Jadis finally looked at the inscription.

_You came this far; it is here you will stop._

_The curse within shall remain unuttered._

_But sacrifice your blood to the thousandth drop,_

_Royal blood with common blood uncluttered._

_This opens this box where my bones abide_

_And make accessible the evil within._

_If you dare, find the small scroll hidden inside._

_Read the instructions given and begin._

Jadis frowned. Word had reached her yesterday that her ill mother had died by committing suicide. At the time she had not regarded the news but now she saw her dilemma. Foolish woman. Now she was the only one left in Charn of pure royal blood and would need one-thousand drops of it to open the blasted coffin. Steeling herself for the pain, she drew her dagger and pierced the flesh on her wrist with it. She deepened the cut until it was considerably deep, then she held her arm over the coffin so that the blood would land on it.

For almost an hour she stood like this over the coffin. She squeezed her arm from time to time whenever the flow of blood slowed down. When the thousandth drop finally hit the bloody coffin, she was too dizzy to stand up straight anymore and immediately collapsed onto the floor. Before she passed out completely, her blurred vision showed her enough to see a crease appearing near the top of the coffin that spread all the way around it. The lid popped off along the crease as her eyes closed.

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"Here, put another pillow under her head."

"Keep that tea covered so that it stays warm until she wakes up."

Jadis groaned and opened her eyes to find that she was still in her bedroom but now she was lying on her bed. The chambermaids instantly realized that she was awake and poured tea in a mug for her. When her eyes were more focused, she looked around the room and realized with a shock that the lid of the black coffin was lying on the floor. Servants were too illiterate to study magic, right? But they could have let someone else in to read it!

"If any of you has seen or revealed anything in that coffin to anyone, she shall instantly be killed," she gasped.

"None of us has gone near the scary black box, ma'am," said one of the chambermaids as she poured Jadis a steaming hot cup of tea. Jadis was too tired to be very anxious and made no protest as the hot liquid was poured down her throat. Presently, she pretended to fall asleep and the servants left the room to let her rest. As soon as they were gone, she gathered all her strength and put one leg out of bed. She stopped to take a deep breath as she put the other leg out of bed.

After another deep breath, she pushed the rest of herself out of the bed and had to grab onto the bedside table. Her legs had not been ready to carry her full weight again. So she got down on her belly and began to slowly and painfully crawl toward the coffin. When she reached it, she pulled herself up using its side and looked in. There was an old skeleton, not doubt the remains of Cadaver the Sorcerer.

In its hand it tightly held a parchment scroll that was yellow with age. With great difficulty that made her break out in sweat, she finally pried the scroll out of its decayed encasement without ripping it. Gripping it between her teeth, she once again slowly and painfully crawled to her bed and used the bedside table to pull herself up. Once in bed, she broke the seal on the scroll and read the contents to herself.

She had barely finished when she heard a commotion outside and a minute later, Aquila, hers and Bellatrix's old weapons-trainer and now the commanding general of her army, entered the room and bowed low.

"Your Majesty," he began, "your regiment of wild wolves has been murdered overnight due to foul play by your sister. We have found wolf's-bane in their food supply and by using a plant with magical qualities, she has broken the pledge not to use magic in the war. The wolves were the last defense of the city and even now the armies of Affinis are attacking us in the streets of Charn."

Jadis was silent. Then she said, "I will go to meet my sister."

"My queen it is too dangerous," objected Aquila.

"Summon my maids," she said.

When he returned with them a few minutes later, Jadis had made her plan. She commanded Aquila to wait outside while the girls dressed her in her richest dress. Then she ordered for her scepter of authority to show who was still in charge. After this, the chambermaids supported her to the front terrace. From there she could see the battle raging and there she waited silently not moving as the enemy advanced.

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Bellatrix stood on the balcony of a deserted house. Its owners had fled before the invading armies and she had seized it as a temporary headquarters. The balcony looked toward the palace and she was waiting for news on the attack. Just then, her husband, Prince Alacer of Affinis, rode up to the street below and stopped his horse. His horse was covered in foam so he must have ridden hard to get there fast. He must have important news, thought Bellatrix. He almost dismounted but then he glimpsed her standing at the balcony.

He waved and yelled joyfully, "We have captured the palace! You should be there when we enter it victoriously!"

Bellatrix happily ran down the stairs and Alacer lifter her up in front of him on his horse. In a couple of hours, they had reached the front gate of the palace and the Affinian soldiers (along with soldiers from countries under the tyranny of Charn and people from Charn who had actually joined them) cheered as their princess entered the courtyard. Her eyes welled with joy that they were finally defeating evil. Jadis stood at the top of the stairs waiting for her. Finally, when they were at hearing distance, Bellatrix said triumphantly, "Victory!"

"Yes," said Jadis. "But not yours."

In a moment, silence descended over the whole world of Charn as Bellatrix and Alacer with their troops along with the servants in all the palaces and all life was obliviated from the face of it.

"_Thus ended the war of succession and the rebellion of the traitor, Princess Bellatrix the Sorceress. And Queen Jadis sat down among her fathers and mothers of old until the stones of Charn crumbled and the red sun was extinguished."_

_Having written this, Jadis got up from her writing desk in her bedroom and rolled up the new scroll. She went first to the library and put the scroll in the place of the one containing the information of the last use of the Deplorable Word before her. Then she went slowly for she was still weak from so much loss of blood to the Hall of Images. The last chair beckoned to her and as she sat down she felt the force of the spells in the room start to work on her as she slept._


End file.
